More Than Anything
by choose joy xox
Summary: A story of two lives cut short by a war they were too young to fight. Two people who loved each other and their son more than anything else. Most remember them for their deaths, but what about their life?
1. Prologue

**Hi guys! This is my first fanfiction, and I'm actually kind of excited to post it! I absolutely LOVE Lily and James. I'm pretty sure that I've been in love with James Potter since I read the Sorcerer's Stone at 8. I'm not sure why? I just love him. The whole five seconds we get of him in that book! And I fell more in love reading the entire series! There are not enough long Lily and James fan fictions on this site, therefore I decided to write one! Also, I really would like a beta. Message me if you are interested! Love you all for reading! PLEASE review! It will absolutely motivate me to update faster! On to the story. This is just a really short prologue. I will be posting Chapter 1 shortly.**

**I do not own Harry Potter, or anything else that you recognize.**

Prologue

A young girl ran up the stairs leaving the sound of her husband fighting for their lives behind her.

"AVADA KEDAVRA."

The girl's heart stopped. This was a new kind of pain. As a member of the Order of the Phoenix, the girl had felt her share of injuries. This was different. She felt as though her heart was being torn to pieces.

_James._

James was dead, and she was going to be next. The weight of her son in her arms reminded her that she couldn't give up without a fight. She breathed in a deep, ragged breath as she listened to _him_ walk up the stairs. He took her husband, the love of her life. He would take her son only over her dead body.

She turned to the crib and placed her son inside. "Be safe Harry. Harry, be strong."

She heard the door open and felt his eyes on her.

"Mrs. Potter. We meet again."


	2. The Last Ride

**I really really really wish that I owned Harry Potter. However, I sadly do not.**

Chapter 1

LPOV

I sighed to myself as I shut the lid of my trunk. For the last time I turned to glance around the room that had been my home for the last seven years. This room holds so many memories.

"LILY FLOWER! GET YOUR ARSE DOWN HERE BEFORE THE TRAIN LEAVES WITHOUT US!"

I laughed and pointed my wand at my trunk. "Wingardium Leviosa." I levitated my trunk down the stairs and doubled over in laughter as I heard a thump and muttered curse.

I skipped down the stairs and laughed again as I saw Sirius rubbing his bum where he fell. "I'm sorry Sirius, but I really couldn't resist."

"Lily flower, you are literally a bloody pain in my arse."

I giggled, "Sirius you're ridiculous. Where's James?"

"Right here," said a deep, soft voice from behind me.

I felt myself break out into a wide smile and turned around to face my boyfriend. Speaking of pains in the arse, James and I had a bit of a difficult history. By difficult history, I mean I hated the prat's guts for the better part of six years. At the start of this year he deflated his fat head a bit. Turns out he's a bit wonderful. Don't get me wrong, he's still an idiot. But I love him anyway.

I get on my tip toes and kiss him softly. I smile against his lips and pull away slightly. "Hi."

He smiles down at me and runs a hand gently over my cheek. "Hi yourself."

Sirius loudly clears his throat behind us. We turn to look at him questioningly.

"I hate to interrupt that disgusting display of affection, but if we aren't going to miss the train we have to go right now."

I sigh sadly and look around the common room. "I guess this is the end."

"No love, it's just the beginning." James takes my hand and we walk out of the common room for the last time.

I held onto James' hand as we fought to make our way through the crowded corridor of the Hogwarts Express. It actually isn't all that difficult with Sirius and James leading the way. People tend to make a path for the Marauders. It is actually really wonderful at times like this.

The three of us walked into our usual compartment to find Remus and Peter waiting for us. Peter looked up and smiled happily with a mouth full of Chocolate Frog. "It's about time you lot joined us. I thought the train was going to leave without you."

"James insisted we waited on that one," Sirius noded his head in my direction and gave me a playful glare.

I reached my hand across James and smacked Sirius across the back of the head. "Rude! Speaking of rude, where's Dorcas?"

Dorcas Meadows is my best friend in the world, but subtlety is not something that she is known for.

Sirius looked at me appreciatively, "Oh yeah! Where's my woman? I need some Dorcas loving."

Did I mention that they're dating? Yeah, they are basically perfect for each other.

Remus rolled his eyes and closed book that he was reading. "She was in here, but she left right before you guys got in here. She said something about an affair with Professor Slughorn in the staff car."

Sirius' eyes grew wide and he stood up and walked out the compartment without another word.

We all looked at each other for a moment before breaking into hysterical laughter. James put his head on my shoulder, and I could feel his body shaking with laughter. "Did you see his face?"

I smiled up at him and quickly kissed his cheek. "I need the loo."

James grabbed my hand as I got up and looked up at me warily. "I'll come with you."

He moved to get up, but I grabbed his shoulder and pushed him back down. "James," I rolled my eyes and sighed. "James there is no reason to be ridiculous. I will be fine." I grabbed his hand and kissed it before walking out of the compartment.

It's not like James doesn't have a reason to worry. This year has been a little violent by Hogwarts standards. There's this group, we like to call them the Junior Death Eaters, who have been targeting Muggleborns all year. As a Muggleborn Head Girl, I have been one of their top targets. They are a part of a larger movement of Death Eaters under this nutter called Lord Voldemort. I really doubt they're going to be a problem today as we're all leaving for the summer.

"Alright, Mudblood?"

I cringed before slowly turning around. Guess I was wrong.

Lucius Malfoy, Avery, and Travers were glaring at me from the entrance of a compartment full of Slytherin seventh years.

I nodded at them and turned to walk away. "Oh, I don't think so" said Malfoy moving toward me. He grabbed my arm and turned me around.

I pulled out my wand and glared up at him. "Are you going to curse me on the train Malfoy?"

He smiled. "Why would I do that, Evans? I'm only here to deliver a warning."

When I didn't respond he continued, "The Dark Lord values individuals such as yourself. Your filthy blood can be made irrelevant if you respond appropriately. We will be in touch."

"Is there a problem here?" I looked over Malfoy's shoulder to see Sirius. Sirius was glaring at Malfoy with has wand held loosely in his hand.

Malfoy dropped his hand from my wrist and backed toward his compartment. He smiled. "No problem Black." He shut the compartment door and sat back down.

Sirius walked quickly toward me. "Lily, are you okay?" He put an arm around my shoulders and directed me back toward our friends.

I rubbed my wrist for a second before smiling at him. "I'm fine. My wrist might bruise though."

"What an arse. Prongs isn't going to be happy."

I groaned as I imagined James' reaction. It's going to be all I can do to stop him from cursing Malfoy. "Maybe we can just not tell him?"

Sirius snorted as we approached our compartment, "Fine, but fifty galleons says he notices as soon as you sit next to him."

Sirius opened the door for me, and I walked in a sat next to James. He glanced down at me in concern. "You were gone a long time, love. I was about to come looking for you. Did you run into trouble?"

"Err…" I glanced pleadingly at Sirius for help.

"Lily flower ran into Lucius Malfoy. He didn't hurt her, but he said something to her. Actually, you didn't tell me what he said?" Sirius blurted out all in one breath.

I glared accusingly at him before reaching up to give James a quick kiss on the cheek. I could already see him getting angry. I squeezed his hand tightly before laughing a little. "I'm actually pretty sure the git was offering me a spot in the Death Eaters. Sirius came right before I could laugh in his face."

The boys all made various noises of shock and anger. I laughed slightly. "Are you telling me that the infamous Marauders can't find the humor in a Muggleborn witch getting propositioned by a bunch of Death Eaters?"

The all just stared at me. "What? No smiles? Really?"

Remus opened his mouth to say something when the door to the compartment slammed open. We all jumped as Dorcas strode in wearing nothing but a black bra and her uniform skirt. She flopped ceremoniously next to Sirius.

Remus looked at her with a certain amount of confusion. "Err… Dorcas? What happened to your shirt?"

She laughed and laid down with her head in Sirius' lap and her feet in Remus'. "Remus, I am glad you asked. I heard a rumor that the Hufflepuff fifth years play strip exploding snap on the train ride back to London. I obviously had to see if it was true so I snuck into their compartment. They caught me in about five seconds, but they invited me to play. That was an offer that I couldn't refuse."

Sirius barked a laugh and leaned down to kiss her. "Woman, I love you."

I laughed and glanced up at James. He was still looking down at me with concern. I sighed. "James you need to let it go. It really wasn't a big deal."

"Lily," he started.

I shook my head no and reached up to kiss him. He half-heartedly pulled away, but I deepened the kiss. I'm so tricky. I pulled away and looked him in his hazel eyes. "Let it go."

"But…"

"No James. Let it go." I glared at him to let him know I meant business. He laughed at me, which was insulting. He pulled me closer and kissed the top of my head gently.

He brushed the hair away from the side of my face and whispered in my ear, "I love you, Lily."

I shivered, and grinned up at him. I gave him a quick kiss. "Love you too, you overprotective fool."

I was startled as I felt the train pull into the station. I looked around at all of my closest friends, my family, and sighed. "Come on you lot. It's time to go be adults."

**I hope you guys liked it! Review and let me know what you think! As an added incentive I will make the first three people who review characters in the story. Comment me a few details about who your character should be! Remember this is post Hogwarts, so make them age appropriate! Also, I'm still looking for a beta if anyone is interested! I have a general idea where this story is going to go, but if you have any plot ideas for along the way let me know ****.**


	3. The Order of the Phoenix

**Well first of all, thank you SO much to . for being my first and only review! This chapter is for you ****. The other 42 of you who have read this should probably follow in her wonderful footsteps. Actually, you're all wonderful even if you don't review! Love you all for even reading! I really like this chapter. I should probably update again around the same time tomorrow!**

**Harry Potter is not mine!**

Chapter 2

LPOV

I flopped backwards on my bed and moaned loudly. Two weeks without my friends is two weeks too many.

"Rough day, love?"

I screamed and reached for my wand on my nightstand. Apparently I overshot it a bit and rolled off my bed and onto the floor. Ouch. The mysterious person in my room was hysterically laughing from my desk chair. Right, probably not a Death Eater then.

"Lily Evans, after seven years of best friendship do you not recognize my voice?" Dorcas laughed and threw a chocolate frog at me. "You look like you need that."

I smiled gratefully and bit off the head of my frog. "You have no idea. Petunia doesn't like that I can do magic outside of school now. She freaked out earlier when I summoned my book from my room."

Dorcas rolled her eyes. "That's all you did?"

"Well, she might have gotten in the way of the book. There's a small possibility it might have hit her in the back of the head as she was coming down the stairs."

Dorcas laughed, "Well I'm sure she deserved it."

I love my best friend. "Dorcas, why are you here?" I laugh and throw a pillow at her.

"Young Master Potter sent me to fetch his darling girlfriend. Apparently he can't spend another moment outside your loving embrace," dramatically proclaimed Dorcas.

I rolled my eyes, "And why couldn't Mr. Potter come fetch me himself."

Dorcas hesitated, "Have you had post yet this morning?"

I eyed her warily, "No, why?"

"Well apparently Professor Dumbledore wants to meet with us tonight."

"About the Order?" I gasp.

"Well he didn't say, but what else could he want to talk about with a group of Gryffindors who just graduated? Go see if he wrote you too."

"Right, but that still doesn't explain where James is."

Dorcas rolled her eyes at me. "You know, you two in love is kind of sickening! Where's James? Where's Lily? Blah blah blah."

I looked at Dorcas sternly. "Dorcas, where is James."

"He… errr… he had to do something. He will see you at the meeting tonight. Actually, we are all going to his house after. Tell your mum and dad you'll be home late."

"What are you up too? Are you guys going to turn me green again?" I shuddered at the memory.

Dorcas laughed and flipped her long blonde hair over her shoulder. "No! I promise. Now go and see if you got an owl from Dumbledore!"

I nodded and pulled myself up off of the floor and walked out of my bedroom. I hesitated and poked my head back through the door. "Dorcas, don't do anything ridiculous while I'm gone. I think one heart attack a day is all that Tuney needs."

I heard her laugh as I walked down the hall. Something is definitely up with Dorcas. She's being sassier than usual. That's a sure sign that she is hiding something. I will have to investigate further.

I entered the kitchen and saw my mom cooking lunch. I leaned over her shoulder and snagged a piece of broccoli and popped it into my mouth. Mum made an annoyed noise and swatted at my hand.

"Mum, you know you love it when I'm here to annoy you." I grinned at her before kissing her cheek.

"Yeah, I love it like a rash I can't get rid of." She smiled and turned back to her cooking. "Oh, by the way dear, you had an owl." Mum gestured to the table.

I grinned and walked to the table to pick up the note from Professor Dumbledore.

Ms. Evans,

Would you do me the honor of meeting with me this evening around 7 pm? I will be awaiting your arrival in my office.

I enjoy Fizzing Whizbees.

Sincerely,

Albus Dumbledore

I squealed and shoved the letter in my pocket. "Mum, I'm going out tonight. I will probably be back late."

"Alright dear," she muttered, distracted by her cooking.

I smiled flicked my wand at the stove, speeding up the boiling of the water.

I pranced back up to my room to find Dorcas rooting through my underwear drawer. She turned around when she heard me and grinned as she held up a pair of lacy black panties. "Oh Lily, what are these?"

I blushed and grabbed them out of her hands. I shove the panties back in the drawer. "Well, it looks like I got a letter."

She cheered and grabbed my hand. "Miss Evans, would you like to accompany me on a best friend date this afternoon. We need girl time before all of this Order business."

"Of course, Ms. Meadows, I'd be honored," I laughed.

(LJ) (LJ) (LJ) (LJ) (LJ) (LJ) (LJ) (LJ) (LJ) (LJ) (LJ) (LJ) (LJ) (LJ) (LJ) (LJ) (LJ) (LJ) (LJ) (LJ) (LJ) (LJ) (LJ) (LJ)

After an afternoon of ice cream, people watching, and shopping Dorcas and I decided it was time to head to Hogwarts. We arrived with just enough time to make it to Dumbledore's office by 7. As we hurried through the halls I couldn't help but feel a little sad that Hogwarts was no longer my home. I jumped as I felt a hand on my arm.

"Easy now," laughed the person to whom the hand belongs.

I grinned because I would know that voice anywhere. _James_. I turned around and threw my arms around his neck and buried my face in his chest. "I missed you."

I could feel him laughing as he wrapped his arms around my waist. "I missed you too."

"I missed you too, Lily flower!" Sirius laughed and wrapped his arms around James and me in an awkward three way hug.

James shrugged him off and laughed, "Get off us, you prat."

Sirius shrugged and caught up to Dorcas, "My woman will give me some lovin'!"

Dorcas laughed and stepped away from him. "Not right in front of Dumbledore's office, you idiot."

I laughed at Sirius' sad face and turned to the gargoyle guarding the headmaster's office. "Fizzing Whizbee."

The gargoyle moved aside, and we walked into Dumbledore's office as a group. The headmaster smiled at us from his desk. We took seats next to Peter, who had already arrived. I sat down and reached over to grab James' hand. He squeezed mine reassuringly. Dumbledore eyed us speculatively over his half-moon glasses. "Welcome! We are just waiting for Mr. Lupin to arrive before we begin."

Just as Dumbledore spoke Remus rushed through the door. "Sorry Professor," Remus began while rubbing a stitch out of his side, "I got held up on my way here."

"Think nothing of it Mr. Lupin." Dumbledore gestured to the seat between Peter and Dorcas. "Take a seat, and I believe we can begin."

Dumbledore smiled sadly as he took a minute to look in each of our eyes. "It is with great regret that I must ask this of you. Never before has Hogwarts produce a group of such fine minds. I am certain that you have used those minds to deduce why I have asked you here today. It is time for me to ask too much of you. It is time that I ask you to join the Order of the Pheonix."

Everyone turned to look at Peter as he squeaked slightly. Dumbledore's eyes lingered on him for a moment before continuing. "Of course I understand if you are to decline this invitation. Please understand that if you are to join the Order you will be in grave danger. We will do our best to hide your identities from Voldemort and his Death Eaters, but it is inevitable that he will learn of your membership."

I turned to look at the faces of my friends. Sirius and Dorcas looked excited. They looked as though they were ready to begin fighting the Death Eaters immediately. Remus looked concerned. Peter's face appeared absolutely terrified. James' face was emotionless, but I could see something brewing under the surface. I turned back to Dumbledore as he continued. "Joining may mean your death. Being a member of the Order may mean the deaths of your closest family and friends. It may mean watching your best friend killed before your eyes. Torture and injury are likely. I understand if you refuse my invitation. However, I caution you to remember that this is a cause bigger than yourself. We fight for a better future. We fight for your children and for all of those yet to be born. We fight for justice and equality among all. And now, I regret that I must hear your answer. For if you are to refuse, I must obliviate your memory before leaving this office. I am sure you understand."

Dumbledore turned to look at me. His eyes burned into mine for a moment before speaking. "Miss Evans, will you join the Order of the Pheonix? Will you fight with us?"

I did not hesitate before responding. "I will, sir."

He smiled sadly at me before turning to James. "Mr. Potter?"

James squeezed my hand tight before responding, "I will fight with the Order, sir."

"Mr. Black?"

"Bloody hell, yes! I thought you'd never ask!"

"Miss Meadows?"

"Ready to kick some Death Eater arse, sir!"

"Mr. Lupin?"

"I will join, sir."

"Mr. Pettigrew?"

Peter hesitated and glanced at the rest of us before answering. I nodded encouragingly in his direction. He took a deep breath and turned back to Dumbledore. "I will, sir."

Dumbledore's glaze lingered on Peter as though he was trying to ascertain the sincerity behind his reply. He looked away from Peter and turned back to the group as a whole. "I cannot fully express how proud I am of the six of you. I will admit, I had hoped you would answer in favor of joining the Order. You will be tremendous assets in the coming years. We will meet tomorrow in the Leaky Cauldron. From there I will take you to headquarters where you will meet the rest of the Order. I profoundly thank you all."

(LJ) (LJ) (LJ) (LJ) (LJ) (LJ) (LJ) (LJ) (LJ) (LJ) (LJ) (LJ) (LJ) (LJ) (LJ) (LJ) (LJ) (LJ) (LJ) (LJ) (LJ) (LJ) (LJ) (LJ)

"And then pickle danced off the table and jumped out the window. We never saw it again."

Sometimes I'm not sure if Sirius' stories are made up or not. But let's be honest, you can't make up things like that. I leaned back comfortable on the couch I was sharing with Remus. I love James' house. Although house is a bit of an understatement. A family of 32 could fit comfortably. I have gotten lost a number of times.

Peter suddenly stopped eating his Licorice Wand and looked across the room at Remus. "Moony! Why were you late earlier?"

I look over at Remus speculatively. That's actually a really good question. If Remus has any fault it's that he's obsessively early. I got even more curious as I saw a bright red blush spread across his face. "I… errmm… I had to meet someone."

Sirius perked up at Remus' embarrassment. "MOONY! Did you meet a GIRL!?"

Remus rolled his eyes. "Do you all remember Marlene McKinnon?"

"The seventh year Ravenclaw? Pretty girl with the long, curly black hair?" James asked as he walked into the room carrying a tray of sandwiches and pumpkin pastries. He sat the tray down on the table and came to sit next to me. I playfully glared at him. He smiled and kissed me. "But not as pretty as you."

I rolled my eyes and leaned into his side. I was going to join in the questioning of Remus before I remembered there was something I had to ask James. "Hey! Where were you today? Dorcas said that you had to do something."

He hesitated before responding. He smirked at me and said, "Oh, I was just visiting my other girlfriend."

"Your other girlfriend, huh? Tell me about her," I laugh.

"Oh she's about 5'2" with loads of curly red hair. She has the brightest green eyes you'd ever see. She's annoyingly stubborn, but in a completely adorable way. I love her an awful lot."

I laugh softly, "She sounds pretty great."

"She's the best. There's only one girl for me." he whispers as he pulls me into his side and gently kisses the top of my head. "Hey Lily, will you come with me for a second?"

"Sure," I answer with a bit of confusion. James almost seems nervous, which is a bit strange. He grabs my hand and leads me to the garden directly outside the Potter Manor. He stopped and we sat on a bench near the pond.

"James, is everything okay?" I look up at him with a little bit of concern.

He hesitates before turning to me. "Lily. Lily, I have to tell you something and I need to get it out without you interrupting, okay?"

I look at him with confused glance. "Okay."

He takes a deep breath before continuing, "Lily, do you have any idea what you mean to me? For the past several years I have been completely, utterly, and irrevocably in love with you. From the first moment I saw you on the Hogwarts Express, through every insult and name during the dark years, through everything we went through seventh year, my love for you has only grown. I can't imagine living life without you. You are everything to me."

He moved off of the bench and got onto one knee in front of me. I covered my mouth with a hand and started to cry. James reached a hand up and brushed the tears off my cheek.

"Lily you're everything. I don't want to live another day without you. I can't live another day without you. Will you marry me?"

I broke into a grin through my tears and nodded vigorously. "Yes! Yes, I will marry you!"

James laughed and smiled widely. He pulled me up from the bench, wrapped his arms around my waist and spun me around. "I love you. I love you so much." He stopped spinning and leaned in and kissed me passionately. We broke apart as we heard cheering coming from the house. We glanced together and saw the silhouettes of four heads looking through the window.

I laughed and leaned in to kiss James again. "I love you, fiance."


	4. Celebrate

**You guys are wonderful! I mean I just posted the last chapter, but I'm sure you will all respond wonderfully. Well, I hope so anyways. I won't bore you with a mega long A/N. On with the story! Also, you know… if you could find it within the kindness of your heart to review ;) Chapter 3 starts right where Chapter 2 leaves off. I know it is much shorter, but I find James' POV a little more difficult. Chapter 4 will be longer.**

**I really wish I owned Harry Potter. Sadly, I do not.**

Chapter 3

_James laughed and smiled widely. He pulled me up from the bench, wrapped his arms around my waist and spun me around. "I love you. I love you so much." He stopped spinning and leaned in and kissed me passionately. We broke apart as we heard cheering coming from the house. We glanced together and saw the silhouettes of four heads looking through the window._

_I laughed and leaned in to kiss James again. "I love you, fiance."_

JPOV

It was a perfect summer night. It was warm, but a cool breeze was blowing down on us. I could glance into the sky and see the stars twinkling down on us. All of our friends, the people we loved the most in the world, were here with us. But most importantly, she said yes. Lily Evans, the love of my life just agreed to become my wife. It sounds really lame, but my stomach was full of butterflies.

I smiled and gently pressed my lips to hers. "Fiance. I like the sound of that."

Lily giggled against my lips and pulled away slightly. "I think we have an audience. Shall we go inside?"

"I have a better idea. Let's give them something to watch," I mumble with my face buried in her hair. Bloody hell, she always smells so wonderful.

"Mmmm, I like that," whispered Lily against my chest. She gently placed her hands under my shirt. I shivered as her cold hands met my warm stomach.

"Bloody hell, Potter," moaned Lily, as she ran her hands up and down my abs. I laughed softly. I do have pretty great abs.

The sound of the back door slamming shut caused us to jump apart slightly. "COVER UP, KIDS! We're coming out to play." Three guesses at which prat yelled that.

I groaned in protest as Lily was yanked from my arms. Sirius wrapped her up in his arms and started to jump up and down like a little kid. "LILY FLOWER! You're getting married! You're going to be my little sister." Lily laughed and jumped along with him. Padfoot was a bit mad, but he was also the best friend, the best brother, that a bloke could ask for. The fact that he was accepting Lily so easily meant more than I could say.

Dorcas laughed and pulled me into a hug. "I told you she would say yes! Of all times to lose that oh-so-charming, arrogant nature of yours!"

I smiled happily at her, "You were right! I don't know why I doubted it." She gave me a quick kiss on the cheek before pulling away and moving onto Lily. I laughed as she tackled her onto the grass in a hug.

"Prongs," said Remus from behind me.

I turned to face him with a smile, and we did one of those awkward man hugs. He cheekily grinned at me. "Nice work Prongs. After seven years of work you finally did it. You and Lily Evans are getting married."

"Thanks Moony. I couldn't have done it without you. You're the one who always encouraged me to never give up."

Moony grinned and patted me on the back. I looked around at all my friends… Wait, not all of my friends. "Hey, where's Peter?"

"Here!" Peter ran out onto the lawn carrying a camera. "I just thought we might want to commemorate the moment."

"Good call, mate," laughed Sirius. He pulled the six of us together into a group. Peter held out the camera so that we could all be in the picture. Right before the picture was snapped I leaned in and kissed Lily on the cheek. In this moment I could not remember being happier. Everything I needed was right here captured forever in this photograph.

A few hours later Lily and I sat curled up together in the grass. Her head was in my lap, and I slowly ran my fingers through her curly red hair. Suddenly Lily sighed deeply and sat up. "I need to get home."

I whined in protest. "Do you have too? I don't want you to go."

She smiled and placed a kiss on my cheek. "You can't get away from me now, Potter. I'm yours forever."

"Merlin, I love you Lily." I sighed and stood up. I offered her a hand and pulled her to her feet. "At least let me take you home?"

Lily smiled indulgently. "Marriage isn't going to change this ridiculous overprotective stuff, is it?"

"Not at all," I laughed.

I ran my hand down the side of her cheek and grinned as I felt goosebumps rise beneath my fingers. "You do realize we are going to have to tell the parents about this?"

Lily pulled away from my hand and glared. "You just had to remind me of that didn't you? People are going to think this was a shotgun wedding, you know? Usually we don't get married quite so young in the Muggle world."

"Love, you're going to be a Potter. Rumors are just a part of the game." I grabbed her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. "Let's get you home. The parents can wait."

We embraced gently a final time relishing this last moment together before going our separate ways for the night.

**Please, please, please review you wonderful ladies and gentlemen. You're so great. I hope you enjoyed this little piece of James' mind. The next chapter will be telling the parents and the meeting with the entire Order. Review! Love you 3.**


	5. A Change of Plans

**Hey guys! Review and tell me what your favorite part was, or your predictions for the next chapter. I apologize, but this one is a little bit of a cliffy. I double apologize because I probably won't be able to update for a couple days. I don't feel too bad though, because this is the longest chapter yet! Reviews will make me write faster! Love you all **

**Unfortunately I don't own Harry Potter.**

**Chapter 4**

LPOV

_Tap Tap Tap_

I groaned and pulled a pillow over my eyes. I don't understand what that noise is. Is it hailing? I kicked my duvet off of my legs and rolled out of bed. I wiped the sleep out of my eyes and gazed wearily toward the window. Oh, it's an owl. "Stupid bloody owl," I muttered to myself as I opened the window to let the owl in.

I grabbed my copy of the Daily Prophet from the owl and dropped a sickle in the bag. Before I could shut the window another owl flew inside. This one I recognized as the Potter's owl, Artemis. I glanced down at my ring and smiled to myself before I grabbed the letter from James and opening it.

Lily,

If it works for you I will come to you at lunch time so we can share the happy news with your parents. Then we can go to my house for tea before the meeting with the Order tonight. Send your reply with Artemis. I've told him to wait.

I love you.

James.

I grinned and penned my reply to James agreeing to his plan. I went downstairs to tell Mum and Dad to cook for one more. I walked into the living room and flopped down on the couch next to Mum. I pulled my legs up to my chest and glanced at my dad. "Hey Mum, Dad? Is it alright if James comes for lunch today?"

Mum's face split into a wide smile. "Of course, dear! You know James is always welcome. I haven't seen him in such a long time." She got up and went to the kitchen to begin cooking.

Dad and I rolled our eyes at each other. I swear my mum loves James more than she loves me. I'm fairly certain that she is ready to adopt him. That's my boyfriend for you; so bloody charismatic that he can charm the pants off of mums everywhere.

Dad cleared his throat and lowered the newspaper that he was reading. "What time is James going to be here, Lily?"

I opened my mouth to answer, but I shut it almost immediately because I realized that James hadn't given me an exact time. "Err… I don't exactly know."

_Knock Knock._

Dad laughed and sat down the newspaper. "How about right now?"

I grinned and got up to answer the door. I moved to open it, but I hesitated and pulled out my wand. I opened the door and reluctantly held my wand to James' chest. He smirked at me and laughed. "Going to hex me, Evans?"

I glared at him and leaned in and whispered, "What are you here to tell my parents?"

"That the love of my life agreed to marry me last night." He pulled me into his chest and kissed the top of my head.

I took a deep breath of his scent and smiled as I tucked my wand into my back pocket. "Nice answer."

James pulled away and smiled down at me for a second before responding. "Right, now where's your mum. You know, if I wasn't marrying you…" James trailed off with a cheeky grin.

I gave an outraged shriek and swatted at the back of his head. James ducked and laughed. I rolled my eyes and walked toward the kitchen. "Mum! Your favorite child is here!"

Mum squealed and nearly dropped the platter of sandwiches that she had just finished making. "James!"

James laughed and wrapped my mum up in a hug. "Mrs. Evans!"

Mum smiled and picked up the sandwiches. "You're just in time, James. I just finished lunch." She sat the sandwiches down on the table and turned back to the kitchen. "Charles! Can you grab the chips?"

"Way ahead of you, Rose." My dad walked into the dining room carrying a bag of cheddar cheese chips.

I reached out and grabbed James' hand and led him to the dining room table. Once at the table, he dropped my hand and went to pull out Mum's chair. I snorted and sat down. James sat down next to me and I gave him an exasperated smile and shook my head. He shrugged and grinned.

Mum and Dad glanced at each other for a moment before Dad turned to us. "Alright kids, what's going on?"

I looked over at James and motioned for him to answer. He's better at stuff like this than I am, the charming git. James hesitated before answering. "Mr. Potter, do you remember the conversation we had on Tuesday?"

My dad went face went from confused to understanding. His face broke out into a large grin. I looked up at James in confusion. "You talked to my dad?"

He smiled at me and grabbed my hand that was sitting on the table. "It was the right thing to do, love."

"Does someone want to explain to me what is going on?" My mum asked with a certain degree of frustration.

"Mum calm down!" I laughed and turned to James. He grinned encouragingly at me. "Love, you take this one."

I nodded and looked back to my parents. "Mum, Dad, James asked me to marry him last night."

My mum took a sharp intake of breath. "And what did you say?" she asked hopefully.

I smiled and held up my hand with my engagement ring facing outward. "Is that even a question? Of course I said yes."

My mom shrieked excitedly. She jumped up and pulled James up out of his chair and into a hug. "You're getting married!"

I laughed and turned to my father. "Sometimes I think she forgets that I am her child."

My dad smiled at me and grabbed my hand from across the table. "Lily, I am so proud of you. You couldn't have picked a better man."

I glance over at James and my mum happy dancing around the room. He looks down at me and smiles, the love in his eyes, obvious. "Thanks dad. I'm inclined to agree with you."

James untangled himself from my mother's grasp and stood behind me with a hand on my shoulder. I reached up and intertwined my fingers with his. "Mum, Dad, we're so glad you approve. But I think we need to go." I look up at James questioningly, and he nods at me with a small smile. "James' parents haven't heard yet."

"Actually," began James hesitantly, "they do know."

"What?" I ask him in confusion.

"I had to get the key to the family vault to get your ring. When I returned it to my parents they wanted to know what I had taken out. I couldn't lie to them!"

I turned around in my chair to glare at him.

He flinched a little. "Really! Merlin, if they were Muggles they'd work for the American CIA. They are right terrifying when they want to be."

I rolled my eyes at him and turned back to my parents. A lifetime with James is going to make my eye balls fall out of my head from excessively eye rolling. "Either way, James and I must attend a meeting this evening. His parents will also be attending the meeting, and it is best if we leave from his house."

Mum wiped the tears from her eyes and nodded. "Lily I'm so proud of you!"

"For what? For finding a man worth marrying? Thanks?" I laughed and hugged her.

"No, you brat! For becoming an amazing young woman. I wish Petunia was back from vacation with Vernon's family. I know you don't get on well, but she would be proud of you too."

I seriously doubted that, but I didn't feel as though it was necessary to burst Mum's optimistic little bubble. "I'm proud of her too. I love you, Mum. I should be back later night."

She nodded. I walked over to my dad and kissed his cheek before walking over to James. He wrapped my hand in his and we walked together outside. He glanced down at me hesitantly. "You aren't angry with me for telling my parents, are you?"

"I'm not. I understand," I replied instantly.

"Good," murmured James. He released my hand and pulled me to his side. "Shall we go?"

I smiled and nodded. "Meet you in front of your house."

"Last one there is a smelly goblin toe!" James laughed as he disapparated.

That little bugger. I turned on the spot, and as I reappeared in the Potter's front yard I landed on something hard.

"Oooff!" groaned the person below me. I opened my eyes and found myself looking into the eyes of Remus.

"Lily." Remus nodded to me in greeting with a small smile.

"Hi Remus," I laughed.

I heard a throat clear somewhere above us. I rolled off of Remus and we both looked up at James. He reached down a hand and pulled me up off of the ground. "Moony, you're one of my best mates and all, but I'm not really inclined to share my fiancé."

Remus laughed good naturedly. "Apparently we think alike. We must have apparated to the exact same spot."

"Let's see if that ever happens again," I laughed.

"Prongs! Moony! I thought we discussed this! No threesomes without a little dash of Padfoot!"

I turned around to see Sirius approaching from the house with Dorcas riding on his back. Peter was following behind them carrying an old boot. I narrowed my eyes in confusion. "Peter, what's with the boot?"

His lips twitched into a small smile. "Professor Dumbledore flooed a few moments ago and said that plans had changed. He told us that this Portkey would take us to our new location."

James looked at Peter with a degree of concern. "Did he say what had happened?"

Sirius looked at James and shrugged. "He just told us that plans had changed. All we know for sure is that he asked to talk to your parents afterward, and they flew out of here like a hippogriff on fire."

"Hey guys…" Peter held up the shoe so that everyone had enough space to touch it. "I think this thing is about to leave."

We all placed a hand on the boot and waited a moment. Suddenly I felt a tugging feeling behind my navel, and the Portkey took off. After a few moments we landed onto the ground. I would have fallen down, but James placed a steadying arm around my waist. I smiled up at him gratefully.

"Does anyone know where we are?" questioned Remus.

I tore my eyes away from James and looked at our surroundings. We were in a field surrounded by trees. I could see lights flashing through the trees. "I have no idea."

"You are in Muggle village just outside of London." We all turned to see Professor Dumbledore striding through the trees.

James opened his mouth to ask Dumbledore a question, but he was cut off. "I apologize for the abrupt change of plans, but I am afraid that it is unavoidable. I ask that you let me talk without interruption, for we have very little time. There is a battle raging beyond this field. You cannot hear the sounds because I placed many protective charms over this place to ensure your safe arrival."

Dorcas and I glanced at each other warily before she turned to Dumbledore. "Professor, what can we do to help?"

Dumbledore glanced at Dorcas before continuing. "Once again I must ask too much of you. We need your help. The six of you are some of the most competent students that Hogwarts has produced. However, even more than that, you are individuals in whom I can trust. I ask that you form a partnership with another one of the six of you, and then you are to enter the town and help in whatever way you are able. I recognize that this is an unorthodox method of introducing you to the rest of the Order, but it will have to do in this circumstance."

I glanced over at James, knowing that he will want to be my partner. He reached for my hand and we sprinted off toward town. We were closely followed by the pairs of Dorcas and Sirius and Remus and Peter. Dumbledore seemed to have vanished into thin air. James glanced behind us and muttered, "Good luck, you lot."

A flash of green light narrowly missed my shoulder. I whipped my head around and shot a stunning spell in the direction from which it came. "To your left!" I yelled at my companions behind me. We were all quickly engaged in the battle.

I shot a stunner at the Death Eater with whom I was dueling.

"Protego!" shouted the Death Eater.

My stunner rebounded off of the shield, and I had to fall to the ground to avoid being hit by my own spell. I quickly put up my own shield to avoid being hit while I was down. "STUPIFY!" yelled a voice behind me.

I watched the Death Eater collapse, and then turned to see James rushing toward me. He helped me up, and put a hand on my cheek. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine! Let's go," I muttered breathlessly.

James and I walked side by side toward the commotion in the heart of town. Suddenly James put a hand on my waist to stop me. "Did you hear that?"

I looked at him questioningly. "Did I hear what?"

"I think I heard someone crying over there." James gestured toward a house with heavy spell damage.

I paused and listened for a moment until I heard it too. "You're right. We have to go help."

James hesitated, "It might be a trap."

"Yes, it probably is. But James, what if it isn't? If it were me trapped in there, or Sirius, wouldn't you want someone to help? We have to try."

He paused for a moment and then reluctantly nodded in agreement. I began to walk toward the house, but James grabbed my upper arm to stop me. "Lily, let me go first."

I was going to argue, but I could see the fear in his eyes. He didn't doubt my abilities; he was trying to protect me. I supposed I could let him have his caveman moment for now. I nodded and got slightly behind him. I lit my wand as we walked into the dark house. As we entered into the house I saw a small young girl huddled in the corner. I rushed to her. "Are you okay?"

I touched the side of her neck searching for a pulse and found none. "She's dead."

"EXPELLIARMUS!"

I felt my wand fly out of my hand. Oh hell, I guess this is a trap.

"CRUCIO!" screamed the same voice.

James collapsed onto the ground, his body contorted in obvious pain. I got on my knees next to him, and I put my hands on his face. "James!"

"Aw! Is the ickle mudblood worried about her blood traitor boyfriend?"

I quickly stood up and pointed my wand in the direction of the voice. "Show yourself!" As I spoke two figures emerged from the dark.

I felt James get to his feet behind me. He moved to place himself slightly between me and the advancing Death Eaters. "Bellatrix Black?"

The smaller of the Death Eaters let out a girlish giggle. "It's Lestrange now."

"Forgive me, we didn't bring you a gift," James mocked her.

"Oh trust me, Blood Traitor, you're about to give us quite the wedding present. Killing Mudbloods and Blood Traitors is like Christmas," said the Death Eater next to Bellatrix.

"I presume this is the lucky groom? Rodolphus, yes?" James asked politely, but with a hint of anger in his voice.

"Enough small talk," snapped Rodolphus. What a nice temperament on that one. He pulled out his wand and aimed it at me. "Mudblood first I think."

James grabbed my arm and pulled me into a side room. He leaned down and kissed me quickly. "I love you."

"I love you too." I whispered.

Rodolphus burst through the door with Bellatrix directly behind him. James tried to get in front of me, but I wasn't having it this time. I pushed in front of him and glared in the direction of the Lestranges. "Are you so insecure in your abilities that you'd attack two people without wands?"

"How dare you speak to us in that insolent manner, you filthy Mudblood," hissed Bellatrix. She made a slashing motion with her wand and sent me slamming into the wall. At the same time Rodolphus pointed his wand at James and yelled "Immobolus." James froze with his eyes on me.

Rodolphus turned to Bellatrix and gave her a seductive smile. "No need to spill pure blood."

An enormous amount of relief washed over me at those words. Yes, I was probably going to die, but at least James would be okay. I couldn't imagine a world in which James didn't exist. I slowly stood up to face Bellatrix. She gave me an evil grin and pointed her wand at me. "Crucio!"

I fell to the ground screaming, my body contorting in pain. I felt as though a thousand knives were stabbing my body. Suddenly the pain was gone. Bellatrix squatted down next to me and whispered in my ear, "I've perfected that curse to an art. I know just the point that your filthy little mind will snap, and I won't stop until I reach that point. I might not even stop until the life leaves your eyes. Lucky thing your blood traitor is here to watch."

My eyes met James' from across the room, and I watched as a tear ran down his cheek. "CRUCIO!" This time the pain was worse. My screams shattered through the air until darkness came over me.

**Hope you guys liked it! Let me know what you thought!**


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